My Turn — Portales: Small town of heroes

July 23, 2013

I wouldn’t consider myself a local celebrity by any means but it’s nice to know that people read my columns and feel like they’re getting to know me from them.

When my grandmother and aunt visited me in May, I had someone recognize me as the newspaper lady at a mall in Albuquerque. It wasn’t like he was a 14-year-old squirming to get to Justin Bieber but it did catch me off guard considering I was in little girl mode hanging with my grandma and not reporter mode.

But we’re in a town where I’ve seen the mayor watch over a fellow shop owner’s post while the owner had to respond to an emergency. I run into local officials all the time at the grocery store and events. There are local community giants that walk among us every day. Jane Hilliard was one of them.

That’s what’s cool about this place. If there’s a higher society, I have yet to see it. The people here are giving and the people here know each other and now I have to accept people know me.

I saw an every day hero, a local doctor, and her husband at the supermarket on Saturday and they were buying tons of cans for the children’s home. We made small chat about my writing but ultimately, I was impressed by their kindness. Welcome to Portales, just a bunch of small town heroes and celebrities.